Unusual.
Asus wraps the technology of the Zephyrus S in a thin and compact case. The hardware is able to render every current game smoothly on the matte 144-Hz IPS display. The possibilities to upgrade the device are very limited.

Since both Zephyrus devices are identical apart from the GPU, we will not discuss the case, the accessories, the input devices, the display, and the speakers in this review. Please refer to the review of the Zephyrus S GX531GS for information about them.

Display - 144-Hz IPS

Subpixel array

The matte 15.6-inch display of the Zephyrus S with a resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels delivers a good brightness (309.2 cd/m2) and contrast ratio (1,114:1). Besides, the 144-Hz panel shows off with fast response times. Although the laptop uses the same panel as its sister model, the measured values slightly differ. Two identical displays never have exactly the same values.

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Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

ℹ

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.

Screen flickering / PWM not detected

In comparison: 52 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 9813 (minimum: 43 - maximum: 142900) Hz was measured.

CalMAN - Color Checker

CalMAN - Grayscale

CalMAN - Saturation

Display Response Times

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Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.

↔ Response Time Black to White

11 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined

↗ 6 ms rise

↘ 5 ms fall

The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers.In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.8 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 8 % of all devices are better.This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (25.5 ms).

↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey

7 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined

↗ 4 ms rise

↘ 3 ms fall

The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming.In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.9 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 4 % of all devices are better.This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (40.7 ms).

Performance - The GX531GM does not lack computing performance

With the Zephyrus S, Asus provides a very slim 15.6-inch gaming laptop, which can smoothly render every current game. Our review unit comes at a 2,000 to 2,100 Euro (~ USD 2,300) price point. There are no other trim levels available at the date of our review.

Test conditions

The Zephyrus S has a preinstalled control center software named Armory Crate. The software enables you to set the power management scheme for the laptop. There are five options available: “Silent”, “Balanced”, “Turbo”, “Manual”, and “Windows”. If you choose the last one, the power management of the Windows operating system takes control. We chose this option for our test procedure and performed every benchmark with the Windows power plan “High performance”. Furthermore, we conducted several benchmarks using the “Turbo” option provided by the Armory Crate control center. Please refer to the comparison tables for results.

During power supply operation, Cinebench multi-thread tests were running with 3.8 to 3.9 GHz for a few seconds (3.6 to 3.9 GHz, if the “Turbo” mode was activated in the control center). After that, the clock speed decreased to 3.1 to 3.2 GHz (3.4 to 3.5 GHz with control center “Turbo”). Single-thread tests were running with 3.9 to 4.1 GHz. During battery operation, a CPU clock speed of 1.9 GHz was held permanently.

HWInfo

Intel XTU

With 30 minutes of continuous multi-thread testing using the Cinebench R15 benchmark, we observed that Turbo Boost was used permanently during power supply operation. However, the results dropped by more than 120 points between the first and the second run but then remained on a constant level.

We also ran the Cinebench R15 loop with activated “Turbo” mode. The results were slightly higher throughout the test because the Turbo Boost of the CPU was operating on a higher frequency.

System Performance

The combination of the Core i7-8750H CPU, dual-channel memory, and an NVMe SSD ensures smooth system performance. We did not run into problems. The six-core CPU offers enough performance reserves for the future. The dedicated GPU allows you to play games on the GX531GM. Very good PCMark results complement this package.

Storage devices

An NVMe M.2-2280 SSD from Intel as a primary storage device provides 512 GB of storage space, of which 438 GB are free. The difference is occupied by the recovery partition and the Windows installation. The SSD achieves good transfer rates but is not as fast as other NVMe models. NVMe SSDs are connected over PCI Express 3.0 x4, which provides significantly higher transfer rates than SATA III.

Graphics card

GPU-Z

The GeForce GTX 1060 GPU is Nvidia’s current entry-level model for the top line of GPUs. The GPU supports DirectX 12 and operates with clock speeds of up to 1,671 MHz. The graphics core is accompanied by 6,144 MB of GDDR5 memory. In general, test results were on a typical level for this GPU, but they slightly fell behind the competitors in some cases. This changed when the ”Turbo” mode was activated. However, the performance increase of the GPU turned out noticeably lower than the one of the CPU.

The laptop is able to switch between the CPU-internal and the dedicated GPU. The built-in Intel UHD Graphics 630 was actively used by the system.

Gaming Performance

The Asus gaming laptop is able to render every current game smoothly with Full HD and high to maximum quality settings. Resolutions beyond Full HD are possible only for older games or games that do not have very high hardware requirements - for example “FIFA 19”.

The graphics drivers supplied are unsatisfactory. Current Nvidia drivers cannot be installed. It seems that only driver versions that have been customized by Asus can be used. At the date of the review, the most current driver (version 399.24) on the Asus website was dated September 2018. The game “Battlefield V” refused to start because of the outdated graphics driver.

The current Nvidia driver cannot be installed

The existing driver is too old for Battlefield V.

We were running the game “The Witcher 3” in Full HD and maximum settings for about 60 minutes to check, if the frame rates remain on a constant level for a prolonged time. The in-game character was not moved for the whole time. We did not observe any frame rate drop. With activated “Turbo” mode, frame rates were on the same level.